Meomi and SKAFFS get Cute and Dangerous

Aficionados of the art of kawaii flocked to the debut of the group show Cute and Dangerous at the Seven Degrees Gallery in Laguna Beach, California this past weekend.

A headline attraction was the artist SKAFFS who was painting "live" on the wall and sharing his new illustrated book Chaff n' Skaffs: Mai and the lost Moskivvy.

Also featured was the art of Meomi, the authors of the increasingly popular series The Octonauts. From the plethora of colorful fan photos, it is clear that a swell time was had by all. The exhibition runs till August 31st, so take a gander if you're nearby in Southern California and you'll get some smiles to last awhile.

Catch our Welcome to Monster Isle story time at MOCHA

If you're in Oakland, California tomorrow (Saturday, June 6th), visit the Museum of Children's Art downtown (www.mocha.org) at 1 pm and enjoy a fun story time. Author Oliver Chin will read Welcome to Monster Isle and kids will make their own monster in an arts & crafts activity afterward.

The picture on the left captures the book's artist Jeff Miracola next to his furry buddy the Yowie, who is one of the creatures featured in this wild adventure.

While you're at the MOCHA, enjoy the current gallery exhibition "Once Upon a Time: Children's Book Illustrators Then and Now." This popular annual exhibit features the current work of children’s book illustrators alongside works created by the artists when they were children! Naturally Jeff is one of the participating artists and has contributed the drawing on the right: he was 10 years-old when he created this Unicorn and Rainbow piece.

This show inspires kids to keep drawing and being creative, just like pros such as Jeff.